


Deep Seas and their Sailors

by Ilirea



Series: TRC Spring Fling [2]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, M/M, Prompt: adansey, Reincarnation, TRC Spring Fling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:28:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23939173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilirea/pseuds/Ilirea
Summary: “They died.” The words were out as soon as Gansey answered with a hopeful ‘Adam?’ “We all died Gansey.”
Relationships: Richard Gansey III/Adam Parrish
Series: TRC Spring Fling [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725622
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11
Collections: TRC Spring Fling





	Deep Seas and their Sailors

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Imnotweirdjustwriting](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imnotweirdjustwriting/gifts).



> Hello again giftee! I know I may or may not have asked you about making only one prompt but I kinda of got super inspired and ended up making all the three prompts hah  
> This is the one for Adamsey! And reincarnation! And old kings! And courts! And a little bit of magic!  
> Tittle comes from a Brazilian saying that goes more or less like this “calm seas never make good sailors” and I took a little inspiration from the legend of King Arthur.

The splitting headache almost brought Adam to his knees. He could feel the shocks in his whole body, nausea rolling through him in waves. And it hurts. It fucking hurts so, so much. Using a hand to support himself on the nearby wall, thoughts running wild, he barely could manage a “What the fuck did you do to me?” to the newly arrived man before passing out.

__________________

Adam Parrish woke up to pristine white ceilings, a warm bed and a head full of brown hair peacefully sleeping right next to his hand. His head still felt too dizzy to process why there was a man sitting in the floor and sleeping on his bed, why he was actually in a bed and why he felt so different. Maybe a little more complete would be the right wording. Slowly, ever so slowly, he tried to sit, or maybe just supporting himself on his elbows would suffice, really. His main goal was to understand who the fuck was that bird nest of hair sighing in his sleep and… was that a salmon polo shirt? Were those khaki shorts? 

With a heavy groan, he fell back in the very soft pillow and damn this bed was so comfortable – maybe he really could sleep a little more and the golfing guy wouldn’t mind if he did… When he looked to the guy again there were two very brown, very curious eyes peering at him as if he was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Oh, you’re finally awake Magician?” That voice, that name… What the everloving fucking fuck. Was this guy some actor? Maybe some of those guys who believed they were princes born in the wrong time he didn’t really know about? No, that doesn’t sound right. ‘He probably still is a king.‘ His mind supplied, for whatever reason. ‘He is very fitting to be one.’

As he opened his mouth to ask the man who he was, what actually came out was a soft “King”. It sounded almost like a plea. Or a bit like prayer. Maybe a mix of both. Wait. Wait what? This is wrong. This is so wrong. But his core almost sings the name, like a long-forgotten, long-waiting part of him has finally returned home. Maybe it really had. Looks like it, at least.

“So it’s really you! And you remember!” Adam could practically see the starts in this ‘King’ person's eyes at the whisper of his name. “I missed you. Magician I missed you so much.”

Adam’s spirit practically vibrates at this, almost like a dog wagging his tail. And he can’t say he liked it. He can’t say he liked it at all. He isn’t any Magician. Not anymore. Maybe he never was. There were way too many doubts and way too many jumbled and mixed memories now rolling in his mind for him to actually say he is this Magician person.

What the fuck?

He is the son of a drunkyard, isn’t he? A tired mechanic and even more tired student without any ties to knightship, to kings, to royalty. He is nothing more nothing less than a filthy man coming from a filthy town and an even more filthy family. Nothing more than someone that fixes cars and studies his ass off so he can maybe – and that’s quite a big maybe – become someone better, no knightly honor or pride involved. Isn’t this right? His head it hurting again and the nausea suddenly hits back full force.

The man, who was actually still sitting on the ground with his head on the bed – just now Adam realizes, he probably is at a hospital isn’t he? – seems to pick up that something is wrong with him. Adam more feels than sees the other people around the blond stare at him in confusion as well. Robin could sense one strong presence around the King, seemingly anxious and in constant movement, pacing around the room and constantly hovering his hands over the man. The other three were more like a very faint whisper, feeling more like a mirage or an illusion instead of the shadows of real people that were long gone.

“I…” The words were stuck in Adam’s throat, a ball of feelings he couldn’t – or rather, wouldn’t – even name making difficult to talk, to think, to breathe. He almost felt like he was drowning on the dark waters inside his own mind.

For his credit, the man was very perceptive. With a wave of his hand, he sends the four presences back into his own shadow, sitting in the bed right next to Adam and putting a shy hand over his, while the other helped him to sit. While rubbing circles on his back, the King whispered a myriad of “It’s okay Magician, I’m here. I will help you. Breathe, it will be okay. It will pass, it’s okay, I’m here.”

Adam feels like his heart is back at wagging his tail to this King person's touch and words, while his mind and body seem to disagree quite vocally. He couldn’t breathe properly, couldn’t think properly, couldn’t even see properly with the dark spots that danced around his eyes. The only thing linking Adam to the world was the warm hand of the other guy rubbing at his back and the strings of sweet promises of things getting better, clearer.

The nausea and desperation only seemed to increase, however. Adam put a hand on his own mouth, using sheer willpower to swallow the feeling down, down, down, deeper inside himself. Bury the confusion, the pain, will it away. He only noticed he was crying when the ugly sound of a hiccup interrupted the white noise of the King’s words, the hand on his mouth feeling wet with tears. Why? Why was this happening to him?

‘This is not me. I’m not like this. Why? Why, why, why?’ Why did this man in golfing clothes, brown hair and eyes so gentle affect him this deeply? ‘What is wrong with me?‘ Not even one of his questions were answered.

Instead he felt the hand that was covering his moved to squeeze softly, lifting it until it touched the blonde’s chest. “Magician. Breathe with me.” The soft words combined with the man’s deep breaths seemed to help. Ever so slowly, Adam tried to match the rhythm of the King’s chest. In and out. In and out. In and out.

“Yes, that’s it.” The low rumble of the man’s voice seems to resonate in Adam’s bones. “Better now?”

“I… Yes. Yes, I am.” The hesitance in the mechanic’s tone was palpable while he tried to be discreet using his shirt to dry the tears that accumulated on his cheeks and neck, the drying salt uncomfortably sticky on his skin.

“I’m glad.” The warm smile on the man’s face made Adam hastily pull his hand back, clutching it on his own chest.

“What… What is wrong?” As helpful as that King person has been, he didn’t seem to actually comprehend what was happening. To be fair, Adam didn’t understand it either. He remembered crossing the man in the hallways, the “Magician?” and the splitting headache that faded into nothingness.

“I… I don’t know.” The honest answer seemed to startle him. “I remember you calling me Magician and then… Then…”

“I see.” The disappointment was quite evident in the King’s voice. “Calling you Magician, uh?”

“I mean, my name is Adam Parrish. I’m quite sure I’m not your Magician.” Lies. He actually wasn’t sure of anything.

The man was silent for a moment, mulling the information over. His eyes, so inhuman in their deep shade of brown, in their royal way to look at the world around him, were downcast, sadness tinting them.

“I apologize then.” His voice was soft. “It was an honest mistake. It won’t happen again.”

“There is… nothing to apologize for.”

Adam could tell that the King saw him averting his eyes, could tell the King didn’t really believe him, but…

“Since I’m the cause of this mess, feel free to rest here a little.” He was almost at the door at the end of his words. “Sleep well, Adam Parrish.”

__________________

When Adam woke up again, he felt fine. More than fine actually. He hadn’t actually felt this good in ages.

The nurse who came to check on him gently informed that he was clean to go, his expenses were already paid and gave him a piece of paper with a scrambled number and ‘Richard Campbell Gansey III’ written at the bottom.

So this was the man who meet him at a college hallway, calls him Magician and brings him to the hospital and pays for his bills. Richard seems like a nice enough person. Adam immediately feels something stir deeply inside him at the thought.

Gansey is more than that. Way more than that.

But… At the same time… At the same time Adam very much does not want to feel any of that. He hates the idea of the happiness bubbling inside him at the mere thought of the King’s voice and touch. He hates how his body cries in phantom memory of strong arms warped around him and sweet words whispered in his ears – as if both of were them still working.

It hurts. Everything hurts.

He needs to go home. What time was it? Did he miss an entire day of classes?

The clock at the opposite end of his bed tells him he did. Fuck. Suddenly he is so, so tired.

He really needs to go home and hopefully sleep this day off to never remember it again.

And he does. He calls a taxi and tiredly climbs each flight of stairs, his head now pounding again. He is so tired. So, so tired.

It doesn’t even take that much for Adam to fall asleep again, clothes on and all.

__________________

_Adam felt strong arms warp around him, felt the sweet ‘Good morning love’ whispered at him more than heard it._

_‘Good morning my King.’ Adam hugged Gansey back, smiling a little at the naked chest. ‘How are you today?’_

_‘Good since I woke up with you.’ Gansey hummed. ‘We have quite a lot to do today.’_

_‘Yeah, we do.’ Adam reached for Gansey’s face, caressing his jaw. ‘But maybe we can have a little more time?’_

_‘We can arrange that.’ Gansey turned his head a little, kissing Adam’s hand and taking it on his own. ‘Just a little more.’_

_‘Yeah.’ Adam smiled at Gansey nuzzling at his neck and tucking it under Adam’s jaw. ‘I would like that.’_

The dream changed. Adam could immediately feel that he would not like what was coming. His stomach sank, breath caught. It was the beginning of the end.

_Adam hurried down the corridor, his long white robes trailing behind him. He swallowed down the panic and kept walking. Cabeswater kingdom was in danger and Gansey needed to know. All the court needed to know._

_‘King, we have a problem.’ He slammed the door open, panting. ‘We have a big problem.’_

_‘We already know.’ A man with a shaved head and a big sword strapped at his back grimaced. ’They are coming.’_

_‘They are.’ Adam nodded. ‘And they have company.’_

_‘Who? Who is with the Demons?’ A very small woman with a giant mirror-like shield strapped at her back asked._

_‘Everyone. Every other kingdom around. The Greenmantles, Kavinsky, Laumonier, Whelk, Neeve. Everyone.’ Adam could see himself reflected in the girl’s shield, his white and red Magician robes, the worry in the creases at this face. Everything was bad._

_‘Laumonier is always bad news.’ A short man with spiked hair and a leather quiver on his waist hummed. ’Way more than bad news.’_

_‘Wouldn’t you know.’ The shaved head man grimaced. ‘Kavisnky is never good news either.’_

_‘Neither is Whelk.’ A fair headed man with a dark mark on his check mumbled, the candles in the room flicking as nervously as his thrumming fingers at a stack of maps and written plans. ‘We already lost.’_

_‘We haven’t.’ Gansey adjusted his fur-trimmed cape a little, biting his lip in the process. Dream Adam felt a rush of affection for his king at the small quirks. ‘We need to focus and we need to plan. We can still fight.’_

_‘King.’ The woman sighed. ‘You know that the Magician is never wrong. We can’t win in this scenario. There is no hope for Cabeswater anymore. The best thing we can do is evacuate the citizens and try to hold their troops back as much as we can.’_

_‘I know Mirror. Unfortunately, it’s a very clear picture for all of us.’ He sighed too. ‘It’s time to make plans and save as many as we can.’_

The dream dissolved a little, feverish. Adam wanted to wake up. This wasn’t a memory he wanted to see, not even in the small snippets the dreams would bring. He already knew how this would end. Please don’t. He couldn’t take it.

_Adam could almost smell the battle field even in his dreams. The acrid smell of urine, feces and old blood too overwhelming even if his life and his memories where hundreds of years apart._

_From the corner of his eye Adam could see that the first of them that had fallen was the Ghost, the nervous humming of his magic now gone. Present-Adam’s chest ached together with his past self, a weak sob caught on his throat. Ghost, for all his name and all his reputation of being an undying mage, would never come back. And it hurt._

_Adam chocked back another sob, trying to concentrate enough to pull an invisible barrier around the pitiful remaining troops and his court._

_The Greywaren was the second to fall, his knees buckling and his sword falling with a loud thud at the mud. Such a noble person shouldn’t have such a horrible end. The Greywaren deserved so much more after all the miracles he had pulled for their kingdom, after all the companionship they had. After everything they went through together._

_The next one was the Bee, his quiver finally just as empty as his eyes now were. The man fell forward, victim of one of Whelk’s spells. The loss of Bee hurt just as much as the others did. Bee was one of their best assets, both a great archer and an amazing strategist. Bee shouldn’t be dead. Bee was a friend, was a brother, was special._

_Why this was happening to them?_

_Mirror met her demise when trying to protect King. Her giant shield shattered right in front of Adam’s eyes, death coming for her just as quickly as it had come for all the others. No matter how many books and ballads Adam had read, no matter how romantic and long and beautiful was the description of death in the battlefield – death came very quickly when blades and arrows and spells were involved. It was a matter of survival for all the involved parties to bounce quickly from one loss to the other, to not look too much, to not absorb too much._

_Adam had long ago accepted this is how it would end, he would die right at the side of his King, his lover, the better part of him._

_But he wasn’t ready to see Gansey die just yet._

_He pushed through and then he pushed some more. Spells left and right, a thin sword slashing around on his other hand. The Magician name comes from the tarot card – The Magician was more than just a mage; he was the change, he was a protector and he was the beginning._

_He could also be the end too._

_As soon as he saw Gansey’s crown slip very quietly from his head, his body falling and the end coming, Adam closed his eyes._

_If the King was not there, there was no reason to fight anymore._

__________________

Adam woke up crying. He was crying and he was trembling and he hugged himself tightly, trying to glue his own pieces back together with sheer willpower.

He had been Gansey’s lover. He was part of a court, of a fallen kingdom and he had friends. He had so many friends.

And they had all died a long, long time ago.

He needed to talk to Gansey. He needed to know. Gansey remembered right? Before he could think too much about the implications and at the time, he hit the calling button.

“They died.” The words were out as soon as Gansey answered with a hopeful ‘Adam?’ “We all died Gansey.”

“We did.” Gansey’s voice suddenly sounded tired. “I’m still trying to find the others you know?”

“Ah. I see.” The shadows around Gansey suddenly made sense. Mirror, Greywaren, Ghost and Bee weren’t born at the same time they were in this life, reduced to mere shadows of the magic who accompanied Gansey all his live. Probably all the lives he ever had.

“Yeah. But I will. I found you after all.” He could almost see the sad smile on Gansey’s face. “We will be together again.”

Adam sighed, trying to clean his tears and calm his heart. It was both so absurd and so right at the same time. The logical part of his brain screamed for him to end the call, to never speak with Gansey again. It screamed to stop pretending he was special, to stop daydreaming about things he could never have. The emotional part of him knew immediately it was all truth.

The emotional part of him who had accepted Gansey almost immediately.

“How are you feeling Adam? How much did you remember?” Gansey’s voice was soft, careful.

“Enough to know it was real.” Saying it aloud make things easier. “But that’s not enough for things to go as they were, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It is not.” Gansey assured him. “We are different people now and this is another time. We can start by everything learning about each other again, yeah? At the very least, I would like us to be friends.”

“I would like that.” Adam yawned, suddenly feeling very tired again.

“Then it’s settled.” Gansey was smiling too, Adam was sure. “Sleep well Adam. We can meet again as soon as we want now.”

“Good night King.” He closed his eyes, smiling. “We will meet again.”

“Yeah. Yeah, we will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Many many manyyyyyyy thanks to my lovely beta xxdeja_uchihaxx


End file.
